


alumni, aerials, and other scary things

by riverblujay



Series: sanders sides guard au [5]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Marching Band, Colorguard AU, Gen, Genderfluid Sleep | Remy Sanders, Nicknames, and is also a rifle icon and a little shit, bc thats the kind of author i am, deceit is referred to as "dee" but only bc his real name is hard af to pronounce, remy is in college guard, specifically ucf pegasus world
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-04
Updated: 2019-02-04
Packaged: 2019-10-22 04:17:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17655920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/riverblujay/pseuds/riverblujay
Summary: "Virgil couldn’t help but stare in awe at the skill. Remy practiced tosses next, and he and the other sophomores (and a few of the juniors) stared as the tosses crept higher and higher, more rotations added and more body underneath. At one point Remy did a walkover under a toss.It made sense that the college student could perform all of these skills at such a high level, if they were in independent guard."or: sophomore squad, meet independent guard icon





	alumni, aerials, and other scary things

**Author's Note:**

> henlo frens,,,
> 
> so,, veterans of this verse might notice that i changed things, bc i forgot i made remy their instructor in the last installment before i started writing this months ago. so instead of scrapping the whole project i made the instructor seth (aka september) from the shorts lmao
> 
> idk have this trash its been too long since i added to this au

Being on varsity was… weird, Virgil decided.

The only other sophomores on varsity with him were Logan, Roman, and Patton, which was actually quite fortunate. Virgil couldn’t imagine being the  _ only _ sophomore, and the possibility (even if it was slight) of one of his friends becoming jealous if he had made varsity and they hadn’t would have been just plain awful. 

In any case, varsity was both different and the same as last year- it was still guard, but the practices were longer, and more often, and the work was obviously harder than the JV group’s was. But Virgil was enjoying himself, for the most part, and there had been minimal breakdowns as of yet over the choreography itself.

It was during a Saturday practice in mid-December that one of the most strange things that had occurred in his time on varsity happened.

Lunch break was sacred on long practice days, and they were lucky enough to have a whole hour today. Virgil and the other three of their tight-knit group were eating their packed lunches near the edge of the floor when suddenly he heard an excited shout from their captain. 

“Remy!” Thomas said, standing from where he and some other seniors had camped out with their lunches and began to sprint to the door where a figure stood. Upon reaching them, the captain and a few other seniors (even some juniors, too) excitedly crowded this “Remy” person.

Virgil, Logan, Roman, and Patton all looked at each other in confusion, but all shrugged simultaneously and walked to join the rest of their teammates. 

“Oh, Remy,” Virgil heard Thomas interject among all of the excited chatter, “These are the sophomores- Virgil, Patton, Roman, and Logan,” the captain stated clearly, gesturing to each member as he said their name. 

“Hey, Tadpole.” Thomas groaned in response.

Logan raised an eyebrow. “Tadpole? Is that a nickname of some sort?” Remy snickered alongside the current seniors. The current captain huffed a sigh. 

Remy’s giggles finally subsided enough to speak. “Tadpole here was  _ quite _ the  _ smol child _ as a freshman, and you know how guard people are with adopting underclassmen and nicknaming.”

Roman was the first to accept the statement at face value. “Fair enough, I guess.” 

As the upperclassmen broke away from the newcomer, Virgil finally got a good look at them. Most notably, Remy was wearing a heather gray tank reading “genderfluid- drink up haters” that also featured a cup and straw with the corresponding pride flag, as well as a pin declaring Remy’s pronouns were they/them.

“So are you on break?” Virgil heard Thomas ask them.

“For now,” Remy replied, then took a long draw from their iced coffee. “I have a shit ton of practice next week- actually, for most of the break, really- so this is one of my only free days.” 

“Practice for what?” Roman interrupted.

The college student smirked. “Guard, duh.”

Patton gasped. “Wait, so you’re in independent guard?”

“Yep- UCF Pegasus world,” they said casually, like they hadn’t just revealed that they were on a guard that competed at the highest level you  _ could _ . “Hey, Thomas, is it chill if I borrow your rifle?”

“Sure,” the senior replied.

“Excellent.” And with that, Thomas handed them his rifle- which was immediately used for drop spins-with a shit ton of complex body underneath, no less- then a perfectly executed double time,  _ two handed _ double time, consecutive singles- Virgil couldn’t help but stare in awe at the skill. Remy practiced tosses next, and he and the other sophomores (and a few of the juniors) stared as the tosses crept higher and higher, more rotations added and more body underneath. At one point Remy did a  _ walkover _ under a toss.

It made sense that the college student could perform all of these skills at such a high level, if they were in independent guard. It seemed like Remy had done guard throughout high school, and evidently through their first- two, Virgil guessed- years of college.  _ Of course  _ they would be good at it. It would be far stranger if they weren’t. Yet Virgil couldn’t help but feel a strange sense of jealousy while he saw Remy spinning.

_ I want to be able to do all of that, _ he thought to himself. 

Remy eventually switched to sabre, doing choreography Virgil hadn’t even thought was possible. Although, he supposed, there was still a lot Virgil had to learn. He was only a sophomore, after all. 

Lunch ended not long after that, but Remy stuck around, giving tips and corrections as well as input on the drill. It was almost exhilarating, working with them; how they seemed to be able to watch equipment work only once and then be able to execute it perfectly. Plus, it was almost unfair how good they were at dance (maybe it came from experience?) and sheer flexibility. During a water break, Remy was spinning in the middle of the floor- rifle again- and casually did an aerial under what looked to be a seven. 

“Holy  _ shit _ ,” Virgil whispered to Roman, because Roman seemed to get it. The other sophomore was gaping. Once Remy traded weapons for a flag, though, Virge knew Patton would start getting really,  _ really _ excited. He could see by the way he looked intently at them that Patton was attempting to memorize the work, and would probably succeed.

Patton was the only one of the underclassmen, plus quite a few of the juniors, that could successfully do a turnaround on flag right now. Hell, Virgil was pretty sure Patton had gotten a few doubles in back when the “Aimachi Two Turn Challenge” had been making rounds in the guard community. It boggled his mind, a little bit, but there was a  _ reason _ that Pat had made varsity, and it wasn’t by being a slacker. Honestly, Virgil would be betting on Patton getting a flag solo this season if not for the seniors. It might still happen, obviously, but the seniority factor left it up in the air.

A few more hours passed before practice let out for the night. Remy bid the high schoolers farewell by yelling across the parking lot, “Later, Tadpole and gays. I’ve got a date with my boyfriend.”

“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t!” Thomas shouted back, a sarcastic smile on his face as the words left his mouth. Fortunately, Remy only laughed as they got into their car and drove off. Virgil readjusted his flag bag on his shoulder. “Do you know their boyfriend?” he asked Thomas.

“Hm? Oh, yeah, I’ve met Dee a few times.”

Logan furrowed his brows, a sign there was a question he was dying to ask. Before anyone could worry too much about it, though, Patton saved the conversation. “That’s an interesting name,” he remarked with a smile. “Is that a nickname too? Like, is nicknaming just kind of their  _ thing _ ?”

“Not a bad person to gift that power to, if you ask me,” Roman said with a smirk. “ _ Tadpole. _ ”

Their captain rolled his eyes as the group reached his car. “You know, I’m very used to that name by now. I dealt with it for two years straight- well, I don’t do  _ anything  _ straight, but you know what I mean- so I’m not going to throw a fit if I ever hear it.”

“Anyways,” Virgil coughed. “Remy and nicknames?”

“Oh, yeah. Well, they do enjoy all of that, but also Dee doesn’t use his full name a lot since no one can remember it or say it properly,” Thomas recited. “Remy was the captain my sophomore year, it was amazing.”

“Really?” Logan wondered aloud. “I wouldn’t have guessed.”

Thomas gave a small smile. “They have a responsible side under all of the coffee and sarcasm, believe me.”

“Huh,” the four sophomores accidentally said in unison. They all blushed immediately, the senior next to them clearly enjoying their slight embarrassment. 

Thomas waved the group off and said goodbye- not that it would be long before they all saw each other. They all climbed into Virgil’s car after putting all four flag bags in the car through the trunk. He only one of the four of them to already have his driver’s license. Patton was slightly older, but hadn’t taken the test yet, and Roman and Logan were a whole year younger than their other two friends. And not that it mattered, but Virgil considered himself a pretty good driver.

(They often carpooled home from practice, Virgil dropping off the others because it was simply convenient. They all, stubbornly, insisted on reimbursing him for gas money- at least a little of it. Virgil had the luxury of not paying for his own gas anyways, but he supposed he appreciated the gesture.)

“That was an… interesting rehearsal,” Logan commented from the backseat, Roman making a noise of agreement from where he sat next to Logan. “I must say, Remy was-”

“Something else?” Roman interjected.

“Yes,” Logan replied after a heavy sigh, “though I would appreciate not being interrupted in the future.”

“Ah, you know you love me.”

“Bold of you to assume I am capable of feeling love.”

Patton was the one to immediately break out into laughter, though it quickly devolved into making sure Logan knew it was okay if he had feelings and wasn’t repressing them or something, because that was the kind of person Patton was. Virgil decided to shift more of his focus to the road as he drew closer to the adjacent houses of the two in the backseat. Conversation died down a little as they approached, leaving the Roman and Logan to grab their bags after he parked the car. The pair waved goodbye, but Virgil didn’t doubt that when he arrived at his own house their group chat would be spammed with messages.

He and Patton chatted lightly as Virgil drove the familiar route to the other’s house. This ride seemed to pass by more quickly, whether it was because of the actual distance or due to the lack of bickering originating from the backseat. (Virgil loved Roman and Logan,  _ really, _ but the two of them combined were a force of nature, as well as incredibly  _ loud _ .)

Virgil and the other sophomore bid their own goodbyes before Patton efficiently grabbed his equipment and guard designated backpack (a small over the shoulder bag, really, just to carry essentials at practice) out of the trunk. Before pulling out of the driveway, Virgil plugged the aux cord into his phone and put on his favorite playlist. 

The season was well and truly underway, and even though that probably  _ should _ have made Virgil anxious, he found it just made him hungry with anticipation. 

**Author's Note:**

> check [this verse](https://pastelvirgil.tumblr.com/tagged/guard%20au) out on [my tumblr](https://pastelvirgil.tumblr.com/)


End file.
